Rail-joint



UNTTED STATES PATENT union...

GILBERT A. BARTHOLOMEW, OF MAUMEE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO PETER A. HAUN, OF DELPHOS, OHIO.

RAIL-JOINT.

. SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 506,899, dated October 1'7, 1893.

' Application filed January 25, 1893. Serial No. 469,639. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: lars hereinafter noted, and preferably made Be it known that I, GILBERT A. BARTHOLO- of malleable castings about as shown. That MEW, a citizen of the United States, and a resiis to say, each member has a flat base 1 which dent of Maumee, Lucas county, State of Ohio, may be recessed as at 2 in its lower face for 5 have invented certain new and useful Imthe sake of lightness and which has notches provements in Rail-Joints; and my preferred or l1oles'3 in its outer edge for the passage of manner of carrying out the invention is set the spikes which are to secure the member to forth in the following full, clear, and exact dethe tie; and from this base near its outer edge scription, terminating with a claim particurises the body 4 which curves inwardly so as I larly specifying the novelty. to pass over the base 21 of the rail and is This invention relates to railways, and strengthened by exterior ribs 5. The inner more especially to the chairs which are emedge of this body is enlarged Vertically as at ployed to connect the meeting ends of rails; 6 and its inner face 7 is slightly dished and and the object of the same is to produce a of a sufficient height to bear closely against I5 railjoint which will afford the greatest the web 22 of the rail and to fit rather snugly 55 strength to resist the strain on the rails and between the top of the base 21 and the under which will also permit the rails to have a cerside of the ball 23 of the rail. This is the tain longitudinal movement as in their exconstruction of each member. The base of pansion and contraction under the varying the lower memberL is formed with a narrow degrees of temperature. tongue 8 projecting from the bottom of its To this end the invention consists in the inner edge and turned up as at 9; and the rail-joint hereinafter described, and as illusbase of the uppermember Uis provided with trated in the drawings, whereina similar tongue projecting from the upper Figure 1 is a plan view showing one rail edge of its base and turned down so as to 25 locked in my improved chair and the adjaform a groove 10 into which the upturned 7 5 cent end of a second rail slightly removed. edge 9 of the tongue can pass. The tongue Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the two memand groove are set slightly oblique to the bers of the chair slightly separated. Fig. 3 length of the two members as seen in Fig. 2, is an end elevation of these two members and so thatif the tongue and groove are caused to 30 a section through the rail which is locked engage and the lower member then moved therein. Fig. lis an enlarged horizontal seeuntil it stands opposite the upper member, tion through the chair and the ends of two the two members will be firmly locked torails on a line just above the base of the rails. gether, after which they can be spiked to the The letters R and R designate the meettie as will be understood, to prevent their 35 ing ends of two rails which are of the usual separation. I construction except that in one side edge of It is well known to those familiar with this the base of each rail are formed notches N art that as a heavy load passes over a rail (preferably two in number) each of which has (especially near one of its ends) the ball one flat side nearer the end of the rail and yields downwardly, ever so little of course; 0 one inclined or beveled side nearer the cenand it is well known that in time this yield- 0 ter of the rail. These notches can be formed ing will compress a fish-plate which stands in any suitable manner or by any suitable on edge between the base and the ball of means, but they are so arranged near the the rail to such an extent that it W11]. eventends of the two rails that they shall be on the ually become loose vertically. By dishing the 45 same side of the continuous rail and preferedge of body 6 of each member of the chair, ably at the outer side of the track. I may provide means for allowing a little he letters U andL designate respectively spring motion downwardly each time the ball what I shall call the upper and lower memof the rail is thus depressed; and the result bers of the rail-chair, these members being is that the edge of the chair-body will not 50 substantial duplicates except in the particubecome loose but by its sprmg action will always retain its position between the base and the ball of the rail to strengthen the latter and prevent its being crushed.

Within the upper member U of the chair, near each end thereof, is formed a number (preferably two) of teeth 15, each of which is of a shape to fit loosely in one of the notches in the base of the rail and is correspondingly shaped with one flat and one beveled side. The teeth are so located that when the parts are assembled the teeth will take into the notches in the rails and will hold the latter against displacement-yet as the rails expand and contract under heat and cold they will have a slight longitudinal movement over these teeth by reason of the notches being slightly largerthan the teeth. By having the flat faces of the teeth toward the center of the joint it will be seen that the rails are positively prevented from withdrawal; and by having the beveled faces nearer the ends and inclining from this member toward the other member, it will be seen that as the rail ends are pressed together or toward each other, the inclined faces of the notches and teeth slip over each other and the ends of the rail are borne slightly away from the member U toward and tighter against the member L. This is at the bottom of the rail where the, base 21 is least aii'ected by the changes in temperature; meanwhile the expansion of the ball 23 and web 22 will cause them to tighten themselves between the dished faces 7 of the two members. Thus it will be seen that I have produced a rail joint wherein a slight depression of the ball is permitted by a spring action and it is returned to its normal position after each passage 0f a heavy load; hence the rail will last much longer. By my specific arrangement and relative sizes and shapes of notches and teeth, I also produce a chair wherein the rail ends may be locked tightly and yet permitted to expand and contract under the varying degrees of temperature; still the ends of the rail will always be held tightly within the chair.

What is claimed as new is In a rail joint, the combination with the meeting ends of two rails whose base plates are provided in the same edges with notches the sides of which nearest the eud of the rail are at right angles to the length thereof and the other sides of which are beveled; of a chair composed of two members with means for locking them together and to the tie, one member fitting over the notched edges of the rails and having teeth of the same shape as but smaller than said notches, as and for the purpose setforth.

In testimony whereof I havehereunto subscribed my signature on this the 19th day of January, A. D. 1893.

GILBERT A. BARTHOLOMEW.

Witnesses:

A. F. FILES, G. B. MOUEN. 

